The invention relates to a powder coating arrangement for the application of melted coating powder onto a substrate, comprising a preparation unit for generating a flow of coating powder, a powder applicator head, from which the flow of coating powder issues and spreads in the form of a directed jet of powder towards the substrate, a melting zone, through which the flow of coating powder passes in a direction of passage, and an optical beam guidance system, which directs a laser beam generated by a laser onto the melting zone to melt the coating powder.
Such powder coating arrangements are known from the prior art. In these, the melting zone is located for the most part in the vicinity of the substrate, so that the optical beam guidance system aligns the laser beam in the direction of the substrate and the powder jet and laser beam meet in the melting zone close to a surface of the substrate. In this arrangement, the coating powder is not completely melted, but partially melted. Therefore, the laser beam not only heats the coating powder transported in the jet of powder in the melting zone, but also simultaneously heats a melt forming on the substrate, in which the coating powder is ultimately melted completely.
As a result of this, it is not possible using such a powder coating arrangement, for example, to coat all those substrates which change in an undesirable manner through the action of laser light.
Therefore, the object of the invention is to improve a powder coating arrangement of the type described in such a way that the coating powder may be essentially completely melted before impact on the substrate.